Of all the stars whom I worked with, I think Steve knew better what worked for him on the screen than any other. He had such a sense of what he could register, and that helped a lot in terms of shaping the character and the script. – Robert Wise
As I’ve always said, preproduction is so important. When you cast the actors, you’ve done much of the work. Now, you may need to guide them a little, take it up or down, have them go faster or slower, but the casting process is crucial. – Robert Wise
You can’t tell any kind of a story without having some kind of a theme, something to say between the lines. – Robert Wise
You know, people always think if you start out as a film editor, you shoot less footage. Actually, just the opposite is true. I tend to grab as much coverage as I can because as a former editor I know how important it is to have those few frames. – Robert Wise
You look back on films sometimes and if they have not been as all-out successful as you anticipated you try to find reasons why maybe it didn’t come off for audiences as well as you would have liked. – Robert Wise
The Sand Pebbles has always been one of my favorite films, I suppose because its the most difficult film – from a physical and logistical standpoint – that I’ve ever made. – Robert Wise
A Mac is a closed box, so Apple can make decisions about things that they don’t include. That makes, it in some ways, simpler for them. – Robert Wise
My three Ps: passion, patience, perseverance. You have to do this if you’ve got to be a filmmaker. – Robert Wise
I think one of the major things a director has to do is to know his subject matter, the subject matter of his script, know the truth and the reality of it. That’s very important. – Robert Wise